July 27, 2014

Update on MAF training

This morning, I woke up to a text message from Jerry with a picture of a nest that he discovered at work:

I just love when baby birds sit there with their mouths wide open. He said the nest is in a spot where it won't get disturbed, so I hope that nothing happens to them. So cute!!
I cannot believe how sore I still am from the 12-miler I did on Friday night! Out of all the things I expected from the MAF training, being sore was such a surprise to me. At first, I thought it was just normal soreness (mainly my hips and calves), but I was feeling a twinge in my knee that probably isn't just "normal" soreness. Nothing excruciating, but it was enough to where I noticed it. I tend to pay a lot of attention to the "little twinges" ever since I was injured in 2012.

I was thinking about playing it out for a couple more days, but today was a rest day, and I still felt the little twinge in my knee. So, I'm going to go with my gut feeling, which is telling me that the MAF heart rate training just isn't for me. The running feels unnatural when I have to go so much slower than I'm used to. I'd like to really give the MAF training a fair shot, but I don't want to risk injuring my knee; and the training I've been doing for the past year and half hasn't given me any problems at all, so I'll just stick with what's worked for me so far.

While doing MAF training, you're not supposed to do strength training (because it's anaerobic), and I've been wanting to do the Wii Active 2 that I bought recently. It's not hardcore strength training, but I really enjoyed the Wii Active 30-Day Challenge, so I want to try the new challenge on the Active 2. I'll start doing that tomorrow, as well as running however it feels "natural" to me. I still really like running without a schedule, and I've been disciplined enough to well with it, so I'll continue with that.
Eli's doing much better today. Yesterday, he was feeling pretty good, and even went fishing with my dad for a little while, but his throat was still hurting. I noticed that he looked like he had lost weight, and when I weighed him, he had lost 3.5 pounds since surgery--that's a lot for a kid his size! So I told him I'd take him to Kroger and he could pick out anything at all that he wanted to eat, but he said he didn't want anything. I offered to get him ice cream from McDonald's, or let him drink soda (we never buy soda). He turned down every offer I made. I was getting worried, because normally, Eli would sell his soul for some candy or ice cream, but he had no interest in it.

I gave him some of his pain medication this afternoon, and then he felt much better. He actually ate a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner, which was the most he's eaten since surgery. He was talking more today, too. It's been so quiet around here without his chattering. ;)

Noah left for church camp this afternoon, and he'll be gone for five whole days. He was really excited, and of course I'm nervous for him, but I know he'll have fun. Last year, he went for two days, and loved it. I just hope Eli feels well enough to do some fun one-on-one things with me while Noah is gone.
I've still been doing well with tracking my food. I didn't track Tuesday through Thursday, because I just had so much on my mind with Eli, and it was hard to focus on anything else; but, I tracked Friday, Saturday, and today. I've been making an old favorite for lunch, something my mom taught me to make a long time ago: A broccoli/cauliflower salad in a pita pocket.

I've had everything prepped and ready to assemble in the fridge so that I have no excuse not to eat something healthy for lunch. I chopped up broccoli and cauliflower really small and combined it in a bag, and chopped a red onion. Then, I just mix together: 1/2-1 cup of the broccoli/cauliflower mixture, 1 Tbsp. red onions, 1 oz. of reduced fat cheddar cheese, 1/2 oz. raisins, and 30 g. Bolthouse Farms Yogurt Ranch dressing. Then stuff it all into a pita pocket.

I used 1 cup of the broccoli/cauliflower mix in this one, and it ended up HUGE. It sounds like an unusual combination of ingredients, but they all work really well together, and it's a filling lunch (I usually have it with fruit).

I've found that the key to get me back to tracking is to have everything planned and ready to go. I baked breakfast bars and keep those in the fridge, I prepped the broccoli/cauliflower salad for lunch, and then I've been using my crock pot a lot for dinner. It's nice not to have to think about what I'm going to make or eat, because I've already planned it out. Once I get back to it for several weeks, I won't have to plan everything, but for now, it's working well.

Those are some BIG baby bird mouths! So cute! I guess they want to make sure Mom can't miss with the bugs and worms she brings them to eat. I'm glad you're quitting the MAF training, sounds like it just wasn't working out, you know what makes you feel good, so I'd stick with that! Your pita stuffed with chopped veggies (and raisins) looks delish. I might try something like that. I bought some of that yogurt dressing a long time ago, and never opened the bottle. Might be time to try it again! I think my lunch will be some of those shirataki noodles with some leftover pasta sauce. I rinse the noodles forever and then boil them for just a minute or two, and that gets rid of that awful smell. They're really not too bad.

After the T&A surgery, days 5-8 can be the most painful. After that the kids seem to improve a lot! So he is probably right about in that span. Keep up the pain meds regularly so you stay AHEAD of the pain. And super important to keep him sipping water constantly.

Tried your broccoli/cauliflower pockets for lunch today - yum! I was lazy and threw the veggies in the food processor instead of chopping them. The flavors were great, and those unexpected sweet bites with raisins were a treat. Added a banana to the meal and it was just right. Thanks for the recipe!

I don't understand a training program that doesn't allow for strength training. I must have missed a post where you explained it; I'll go back and look. That would be hard for me because I think strength training is so important, for better running and just for life.

I have had this broccoli/cauliflower mix in a pita pocket almost daily since reading your post. It's so good and filling! I had it today with a peach for lunch. So yummy!! (Although one downside, my husband hates how the refrigerator smells! Haha)

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